2016 U.S. Paralympics Cycling Time Trial Preview

U.S. team members celebrate after winning 12 road cycling medals at the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto. Over 60 athletes will compete at the 2016 U.S. Paralympics Cycling Time Trial to wear the stars and stripes in Rio de Janeiro.

Over 60 of the nation’s best Paralympic cyclists will put everything on the line at the 2016 U.S. Paralympics Cycling Time Trial on July 2 in Huntersville, North Carolina for the opportunity to represent Team USA in Rio de Janeiro. Individual athletes will race against the clock on a rolling 7.3-kilometer circuit course in the suburb of Charlotte.

Represented in the field are two reigning time trial road world champions—Shawn Morelli (Leavenworth, Kansas) and Jamie Whitmore (Mount Aukum, California)—who will look to showcase their speed on the course. Morelli battle Megan Fisher, who won bronze at the 2015 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, for the top spot in the women’s C4 classification while Jamie will go up against seven-time Paralympian Allison Jones (Colorado Springs, Colorado) in the C1-3 race.

The event also boasts 19 active duty and military veterans, including U.S. Army veterans Morelli and Tom Davis (Freemont, Indiana), who comes off of an impressive double silver-medal performance in the men’s H4 class at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Ostend, Belgium in May. Other veterans to watch are Scott Martin (Oceanside, California) of the U.S. Marine Corps in the men’s C4 class, Will Groulx (Portland, Oregon) of the U.S. Navy in the H1-2 class, Oz Sanchez (San Diego, California) of the U.S. Marines and Freddie De Los Santos (Hopewell Junction, New York) of the U.S. Army in the H5 class, and Shawn Cheshire (Camillus, New York) with her pilot Mackenzie Woodring (Belmont, Michigan) in the women’s tandem.

In the men’s T2 class, Ryan Boyle (Marietta, Georgia) is a strong contender in a six-man field to take the top spot after winning time trial silver at the 2015 road world championships and the latest world cup in Ostend, Belgium.

The men’s C5 class also features a deep field of six highlighted by Chris Murphy (Alta Loma, California) who will aim to make his first U.S. Paralympic Team on the course in Huntersville. On the women’s side, Samantha Bosco (Spring Hill, Florida) will also compete to make her first Games against U.S. Army veteran and two-time Paralympian Jennifer Schuble (Birmingham, Alabama).

Team USA heads into the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games as the world’s top-ranked nation in track, road and overall team for the International Cycling Union (UCI) standings. For more information on the 2016 U.S. Paralympics Cycling Time Trial, visit USParalympics.org/2016TeamTrials.